petronel

P3E1T1R1O1N1E1L1
/ˈpɛtɹənəl/

noun

A short but large-caliber, heavy 16th- and 17th-century firearm that used a matchlock or wheellock mechanism, intermediate between the arquebuse and pistol.

OriginMiddle French petrinal ← Latin pectorina →
Scrabble 10
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounpetronel (plural petronels)

plural petronels · alternative petronell · alternative poitrinal

  1. obsoleteengineeringA short but large-caliber, heavy 16th- and 17th-century firearm that used a matchlock or wheellock mechanism, intermediate between the arquebuse and pistol.

    […]And putting vp good ſtore of gold and Iewels for that iourney, and taking with him a good horſe, that was browne Bay, with a Petronell hanging at the arſon of his Saddle[…]

    1634, Matheo Aleman, “Wherein Guzman de Alfarache relateth the Story of thoſe two Louers, Ozmin and Daraxa”, in Don Diego Puede-Ser, transl., The rogue: or The life of Guzman de Alfarache, volume 1, pages 68–69

Origin

  1. Latinpectorina
  2. Middle Frenchpetrinal
  3. Englishpetronel

From Middle French petrinal, alteration of poitrinal, from poitrinal (“of the chest”) (the weapon is thought to have been braced against a chest-pad when firing), from poitrine (“chest, breast”), from Latin pectorina, feminine of pectorinus (“of the breast”) (from pectus (“chest”) + -inus (“-ine”)).

More words from Middle French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Italian petrinale
  • petrinaleTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

petronel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/petronel

MLA

“petronel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/petronel. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “petronel,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/petronel.

Source: petronel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.